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Critics of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party have been volubly critical of its apparent reluctance to recognise this, accusing it of prioritising political posturing ahead of winning the support of the voters it needs in order to govern again.

But something is happening to the Labour Party, something that both confirms such criticisms yet also confounds them.

Minutes after the polls closed on what journalists and “West Wing” addicts insisted, implausibly, on calling “Super Thursday”, it was announced that the Shadow Home Secretary and former Labour leadership contender, Andy Burnham, was seriously considering an invitation to run for the post of directly-elected Mayor of Greater Manchester.

We can ignore the claim he has been “invited” to stand: it’s a time-honoured tradition that ambitious politicians must be perceived as being reluctant to seize power until they’re invited, even begged to do so: “I do not seek elected office, but should my party call, I fear I will not have the courage to turn a deaf ear.” You get the gist.

But whether Burnham actually received an unsolicited approach or bribed some local worthies with shrink-wrapped box sets of “Coronation Street” and a year’s supply of Eccles Cakes to get them on board, there’s no doubt he’s seriously considering his options. If he does decide to turn his back on Westminster, he’ll be up against another ex-minister and former New Labour stalwart, Ivan Lewis, who beat Burnham to the punch by announcing in February he was thinking of applying for the same job.

Less remarked upon by the media but significant nonetheless was the by-election last Thursday in the Welsh constituency of Ogmore, caused by the decision of another ex-minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, to leave Westminster to stand for election to the Welsh Assembly where his talents and experience will surely be recognised with ministerial office.

A handful of cases doesn’t make a trend. Yet something important is happening here.

MPs who might reasonably have expected to achieve or regain ministerial office in the near or mid-term future are giving up on the prospects of a Labour government. Being on the front bench is hard enough when you’re a minister, supported and surrounded by civil servants and special advisers. In opposition it is a thankless, unpaid slog, with jam-packed diaries during the week and weekends spent away from the family in the service of the party.

Incumbents persuade themselves it will all be worth it when the next election is over and a ministerial driver is picking them up from home and taking them to their Whitehall office. But when the polls, pundits and pure common sense tell you that electoral victory is not within your party’s grasp, is it really worth it?

Even within the Commons, talented individuals are casting a vote of no confidence in their party’s prospects. Aside from the high profile boycotts of Corbyn’s front bench by, among many others, Liz Kendall and Tristram Hunt, perhaps more significant is the likes of Iain Wright, the Hartlepool MP and a respected and highly-regarded former education minister. After serving under Gordon Brown in government, followed by a frustrating five years on the front bench in opposition, Wright opted for the chairmanship of the Business Select Committee rather than face another half a decade of what colleagues wryly refer to as “the heavy lifting” on behalf of the party on the front bench.

An opposition serious about forming the next government simply cannot afford to lose the talents of individuals like Burnham, Lewis, Khan, Irranca-Davies or Wright. Yet every one of them has spent his life thirsting for the opportunity to implement his principles in government; what alternatives do they have other than to desert this sinking ship?

Hunger for power, the ambition to govern – these are essential qualities to any successful political party. They are also the characteristics most despised by Corbyn’s own supporters. To the quarter of a million party members who voted for the Labour leader, the very desire to be in office is suspect, especially given the record of compromise and sell-out (as they see it) of the last Labour government.

Of course, neither Burnham nor Khan have given up on their ultimate ambition to lead their party, and if Boris Johnson achieves his own ambition to lead the Tories, the path to power via an elected mayoralty will have been validated.

Rather than scorn such ambition, we should celebrate it. We should pack the Commons and our parties’ leaderships with people desperate, ravenous for power, individuals who will use every ounce of their energy and ingenuity to persuade voters to elect them. If such individuals face a future of impotence while their opponents enjoy the fruits of office and the opportunity to change lives which they themselves are perpetually denied, it is perfectly natural for them to seek power elsewhere.

Or retire to a more comfortable, less stressful, better remunerated existence.